Hurts Like Heaven
by nicoliolipoli
Summary: There is someone out to get Nathan, and Simon helps try to catch the criminal, worried for the safety of his friend's life. Rated M for language, violence, and future smut.
1. Chapter 1

**Notes: **AU. Set some time after the 'dairy boy' incident. Simon and Alisha aren't together, but are instead close friends. Nathan never met Marnie and never went to Las Vegas.

**Chapter 1: Always Him**

Nathan felt weird.

His eyes burned and his head felt fuzzy. He didn't understand. Why was the world clouding? It wasn't like he had done anything but drink a few beers. Okay, maybe he'd had a couple shots, too, but he should know that getting' drunk didn't make him feel this funny. At least, it usually didn't.

Either way, his body felt completely different from normal, and with no warning, he felt a breeze of Déjà' Vu. Without bothering to think much of it, the curly haired boy walked out of the club without so much as a wave to his friends. People around him called his name, wanted to have a good chat with the funny and clever Nathan Young, but he couldn't hear them. They were so far away, just like his mind was.

The second he began to feel like his thoughts weren't connected to his body, he knew that something was really wrong. And still, he couldn't piece together the clues. He couldn't remember that he'd felt this same way the night his brother died.

So off he walked, outside of the club and into the dark, cool night. His skin lingered with a sweat, half from the dancing and half from an unknown dread. A shaky hand ran through his hair and he looked around without really seeing.

What was out there? He didn't know. In fact, he didn't even know where his car was. Wait, he didn't have a car. How did he get here, then? Hell, he didn't know. All he knew was that he felt sick- and that an odd dread was still clinging to his smooth, warm skin.

"Fuck it," he mumbled before heading past the parking lot. So what if he didn't know how he got there? He sure as hell knew how he was getting home, and that was by walking.

The walk was pretty normal during the beginning. Despite his heavy panting, Nathan didn't bother to reach through his mind to pick out the warnings of emerging danger. Only when it started to rain did the boy grow weary, feeling as if something lurked deep within the shadows.

He didn't really know what the hell was wrong with him. If he were drunk right now, he'd be hollering into the creepy night, beckoning the shadows (whether they're there or not) to come fight him, followed by some crude comment about being pussy. If he were drunk, he'd have confidence.

But he wasn't drunk, he was on drugs- that part was evident now. And although, for the most part, Nathan felt like himself, he didn't have the courage to face whatever he knew was following him.

So when a foot stomped into a large puddle, making a splash only a few feet behind Nathan, all he could do was run.

He wasn't only running because he was scared, though. He was running because he'd realized what was happening.

Someone had drugged him, probably on purpose. And what happened when he was on drugs?

Well, he could die. And Nathan couldn't have that.

So off he went, attempting to concentrate on the road ahead of him yet failing miserably. One simple slip on water sent him flying, and before he could scramble up, he was kicked down to the floor by a heavy boot.

Nathan flipped over, breathing rigid and quick.

"Listen, bloke, take my money. I've barely got a dime on me, I swear it- my wallet's bone dry."

A kick to the face and he shut up.

There was a gleam of light from above him. The man, holding what appeared to be a knife, had a ski mask covering his face. Too bad. He wanted to see what kind of dick would drug and kill someone. Fine, fine, Nathan at least participated in the crime of killing people before. But he never meant to do any of it in malice!

The stranger's arm shot down, pocket knife still glinting by the moon. Nathan barely had time to move. All he could handle was stretching up a few inches.

The knife, which would have pierced his heart, entered his body a bit lower than that.

The boy gasped in pain, blood slowly beginning to stain his shirt. Hot tears burned his eyes and he swallowed, groaning on the floor in immediate agony.

"Fucking bloody hell," he spit out, but the words were forced out as a grumbling mess, and not even he himself could understand what he'd said.

The robber (was he a robber?) before him grunted in frustration, and his arm shot back up- he was aiming for the heart now, wasn't he? Oh, please no. Nathan couldn't die because of one stupid night. He was immortal… he had expected eternal life. Sure, he hated it, but he sure as hell didn't want to die now. Not at the peak of his life.

"Nathan?"

The brunette could've cried in relief, but was instead too preoccupied with the increasing pain in his chest.

It was Simon. That damn weird kid was good for something, wasn't he?

The man in the mask bolted, knife still gripped tightly in his palm. But Nathan didn't really give a shit if the man got away or not- he was too worried about not dying and all that.

"Nathan!" Simon exclaimed with his heavy accent, rushing to the thinner boy's side. His eyebrows creased and he looked at the wound on Nathan's body with shock and worry. But eventually his face flowed with relief when he realized what would happen. "Good thing you're immortal. You die more than anyone I know."

The other boy laughed before coughing, a tiny bit of blood spilling over his lips. His head felt heavy, as did his eyes. He closed them, feeling too tired to keep them open any longer.

"Barry," he whispered, blood creating a static over his voice. "I was drugged."

Simon shook his head. "Drugged and killed it the same night… you have_ got_ to be more careful." He wanted to lift Nathan's head and sit it into his lap- for comfort, of course. But he felt that would give Nathan the wrong idea, and refrained from doing so.

"M-Moron," Nathan chocked out, hand drifting from his wound to his neck. His throat hurt so badly, but he had to talk. Had to explain. "Power… My power is reversed." This came out more like 'powwer s'vered', but by the recognition on Simon's face, Nathan assumed his message got through.

"Gon'… die soon.."

And Simon's face contorted into that of a scorching pain. His breath caught in his throat, feeling as if he'd got the wind knocked out of him.

Nathan would never be able to explain what he saw in Simon's expression on that very moment, but it was a deep, dark pain, as if he'd just lost the thing most precious to him.

And then the curly haired boy began to lose consciousness. He felt strong arms wrap around him and lift him off the ground, and even though Nathan was almost positive that a wounded person wasn't supposed to be moved, he was glad that his friend had taken such a protective approach.

Simon's face hardened with determination, as if he wasn't going to lose anyone. Nathan could hear him muttering, "You'll be fine, you'll be okay. You're not going to die… you can't die," over and over again to himself, a strained struggle in his voice- and before Nathan knew it, the darkness and pain washed over him.

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I hope you guys like it so far! If I get a good responses, I'll absolutely continue right away! xoxo


	2. Chapter 2: A Lucky Fellow

**Chapter 2: A Lucky Fellow**

Who knew how many days had passed in this miserable place?

Nathan felt his eyes open forcefully, the air around him frustratingly cold.

It felt like months had passed- no, years even. His body was heavy and his eyes could barely concentrate on anything around him. All he saw was a blur of dim lights.

Thankfully, though, he could still feel the dull aching pain in his abdomen, which gave it away that he couldn't have been asleep for too long. If it had been more than a month, he wouldn't be in this much pain, right?

Well, it was too late to try and think about it. Despite his name being called beside him, Nathan felt his brown eyes giving way yet again. His body shuddered and he fell right back into a deep sleep.

A bright light shone from above, and Nathan stood straight below it. Everything outside of the light's reach was a dark shadow.

The slim boy squinted his eyes. He had no clue where he was, or how he'd gotten there.

A loud scratching sound came from the darkness, piercing Nathan's ears. He backed away, but had nowhere to run. The light above him was his only hope of survival. If he stepped outside of it, who knew what would happen?

So he sat there, staring and waiting, until he felt the presence of someone else. A hooded figure made its way into the light, and the stranger wasn't alone. More hooded figures, their faces concealed, made their way towards Nathan. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move.

The figures came closer. They surrounded him, dominated him, destroyed him.

The curly haired boy woke with a scream in his throat. Upon seeing that he was on a hospital bed, he took a steady breath. His hand held tightly onto something smooth, and as his eyes took in his surroundings, he realized it was Simon.

Nathan yanked his hand away, glaring. "Just 'cause I'm hurt doesn't mean you can take advantage of me, ya know!"

Simon shook his head. "I wasn't- you were-"

"It doesn't matter," Nathan retorted, cutting his friend off to look around. His hand went to his wound, which was completely healed. Figures. "So how long have I been asleep?"

"Just a day." Simon looked exhausted and worried. There were lines under his eyes and his hair was uncharacteristically disheveled. "They pumped out the drugs in your system, and they were going to take you into surgery after- but since you weren't high anymore, you healed."

Nathan laughed. "Then I'm a lucky lad, ain't I?" He tried not to think about the day before. How glad he'd been when Simon had arrived, and how devastated Simon had looked.

"Yeah… you are. Nathan, do you have any idea what happened?"

Nathan scoffed. "'Course I do. I got stabbed, not whacked in the head. I didn't lose my memories." He rolled his eyes to mask his own worry. If it hadn't been for Simon… well, he'd be dead. "Look, mate. Uh, thanks and everything, alright?" He didn't really feel like going into depths on how grateful he really was.

"Of course, Nathan. I- I'm really happy I found you."

"Yeah, yeah. Enough sappy shit, Simon. Did they find the guy who did this to me? I hope the lil' bugger rots away in jail." Okay, he didn't really care if the man was caught for the purpose of 'justice'. He just wanted to feel safe. He wanted his previous nightmare to never come true.

Simon's eyes crinkled, and he looked at the floor. The other knew immediately that there was something seriously wrong.

"What? Come'on, they had to have caught him by now!" Simon shook his head. They hadn't caught him.

"It's not just that," said Simon, looking regretful. "The night you were stabbed, there were four other superpower related deaths." He ran a shaky hand through his hair.

"Get on with it!" Nathan hadn't realized that his hands were shaking, too.

"The people killed… they were all stabbed through the heart. And they all had amazing powers. Healing, flying, cloning, and shape-shifting. And then there was you. It's been all over the news, but no one knows you were related because no one knows you're immortal." He paused, feeling an unspeakable anger when he spoke his next words. His face was pained. He hated what was happening. Despised it.

"Whoever tried to kill you, Nathan. They were purposely after you. You're a target."

The curly-haired brunette felt his breath catch in his throat. He wanted so badly to grab Simon's hand again (he needed human contact), but he refrained. His eyes squeezed tightly shut and he gripped the pure white hospital sheets surrounding his body. He wasn't scared- he was petrified of what was to come.

"It's okay, Nathan. I'll stop this. I won't let them get anyone else." Which was code for, 'I won't let them get _you_'.

Nathan wasn't so sure.

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Notes: Hey guys! 2 little pushes to continue this story have given me the courage to continue, so thank you to whoever's reading! And don't forget to leave your opinions


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